Louisianians need to know as much as possible about the people who hold influence in state and local government.

And state Rep. Neil Abramson's push to require elected officials to disclose campaign contributions they get from people they hire or appoint to a public post is a natural component of transparency.

The logic of the measure is obvious, and Rep. Abramson's original bill passed the House and Senate unanimously last year. But in a move that surprised Rep. Abramson, who said he had been working with the governor's office for months on the bill, Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed it. The governor said the bill contained confusing language.

Rep. Abramson has filed the bill again, and Gov. Jindal's staff indicated that he supports the idea. "We agree with the intent of the legislation and will work with the Legislature on how it should be implemented," gubernatorial aid Kyle Plotkin said Tuesday.

That's a bit vague, but the governor should find it easy to support the legislation. Gov. Jindal campaigned on setting a high standard for ethics and used his first special session a year ago to pass a reform package that catapulted Louisiana to the upper ranks in state-by-state comparisons.

The new ethical standards included tougher financial disclosure requirements for most elected officials, a prohibition on many public officials holding government contracts and restrictions on some freebies for legislators and other officials.

Rep. Abramson's bill fits perfectly with those provisions.

His reporting requirement shouldn't be difficult to implement. The legislation calls for public officials to include the information on their annual financial disclosure filing. The provision kicks in for people who contribute or donate more than $1,000 to an official representing 5,000 or more constituents -- which is all state officeholders. The disclosure is required if the contribution was made within a year of the date of the appointment or hiring and up to 90 days afterward.

Rep. Abramson said he believes that "nearly all appointees" on dozens of state panels are qualified for their posts. But he thinks that "people have the right to know and consider whether these are the right hires or just a form of political payback."